Communication system with voice mail access and call by spelling functionality

ABSTRACT

A method of initiating a communication from a mobile communication device includes receiving a plurality of spoken letters corresponding to a spelling of at least a portion of a contact name and identifying a contact and associated contact information from a database associated with a mobile communication device in response to the spoken letters. A communication to the contact is initiated from the mobile communication device using the associated contact information. A method of presenting voicemail to a user establishes communication with a mobile communication device. A first voicemail box is checked for messages, the first voicemail box being associated with the mobile communication device. A second voicemail box is checked for messages, the second voicemail box being associated with a second communication device. At least one voicemail message received from at least one of the first and second voicemail boxes is presented to a user via a single interface.

The application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/074,137 which was filed on Jun. 19, 2008.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application relates to communication, and more particularly to acommunication system with voicemail access and “call by spelling”functionality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method of initiating a communication from a mobile communicationdevice includes receiving a plurality of spoken letters corresponding toa spelling of at least a portion of a contact name and identifying acontact and associated contact information from a database associatedwith a mobile communication device in response to the spoken letters. Acommunication to the contact is initiated from the mobile communicationdevice using the associated contact information.

A method of presenting voicemail to a user establishes communicationwith a mobile communication device. A first voicemail box is checked formessages, the first voicemail box being associated with the mobilecommunication device. A second voicemail box is checked for messages,the second voicemail box being associated with a second communicationdevice. At least one voicemail message received from at least one of thefirst and second voicemail boxes is presented to a user via a unified,single voice user interface.

A vehicle communication system includes a mobile communication deviceand a control unit in a vehicle. The control unit is in communicationwith the mobile communication device. The control unit is operable toreceive a plurality of spoken letters corresponding to a spelling of atleast a portion of a contact name and to identify a contact andassociated contact information from a database associated with themobile communication device in response to the spoken letters. Thecontrol unit is also operable to initiate a communication to the contactfrom the mobile communication device using the associated contactinformation.

A voicemail retrieval system includes a mobile communication device anda control unit in communication with the mobile communication device.The control unit is operable to check a first voicemail box associatedwith the mobile communication device for messages and is operable tocheck a second voicemail box associated with a second communicationdevice for messages. The control unit is also operable to present atleast one voicemail message received from at least one of the first andsecond voicemail boxes to a user via a unified, single voice userinterface of a control unit.

These and other features of the present invention can be best understoodfrom the following specification and drawings, the following of which isa brief description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a communication system according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates some of the components of the control unit of thecommunication system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a method of initiating a communicationfrom a mobile communication device.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a method of presenting voicemail to auser.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A communication system 10 is shown in FIG. 1 as implemented in a vehicle8. The system 10 includes a device control unit 11 which, in oneexample, is mounted in a discreet location within the vehicle 8, such asunder the dashboard, in the glove compartment, etc. The control unit 11supports wireless communication via Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1) or anyother wireless standard to communicate wirelessly with a cell phone,PDA, or other mobile communication device 12. In one example, all data13 is encrypted prior to transmission. The audio output of the controlunit 11 is transmitted either wirelessly 14 or through a direct, wiredconnection 15 to the vehicle's sound system, which may include a radio16, satellite TV 16A, satellite radio 16B, etc. The audio input for thecontrol unit 11 is obtained either through a directly connectedmicrophone 17, through an existing vehicle hands-free system, orwirelessly though a headset 18 connected to the mobile communicationdevice 12.

The control unit 11 connects to the vehicle's battery 19 for power. AnAC adapter is available for use at home or in the office. For portableuse in other vehicles, an optional “Y” or pass-through cable isavailable to plug into a cigarette lighter accessory socket for power.

The control unit 11 contains a recessed button 20 which enables thedriver to do the following: register new or replacement remotes; pairthe device with a new mobile communication device 12, and clear allpreferences and reset the device to its factory default settings. Thecontrol unit 11 also has a set of four status lights 21 which displaythe following information: power and system health, vehicle connectionstatus and activity, mobile communication device connection status andactivity, and information access and general status.

In one example, the control unit 11 and the mobile communication device12 recognize when the user, and the user's associated mobilecommunication device 12, are near to, or have entered the vehicle 8.This may be accomplished, for example, by Bluetooth pairing of thedevice 12 and the vehicle 8, or similar wireless communicationinitiation protocols. Within this range, the handheld device 12 changesfrom its normal, self-contained operating mode, to an immersivecommunication mode, where it is operated through the control unit 11. Aswill be described in more detail below, among other things, this modeenables the user to hear their emails played through the vehicle's soundsystem 16, or, alternatively, and if so equipped, played through thesound system of the mobile communication device 12 (e.g. headphones 18).Microphones 17 in the vehicle 8 or on the mobile communication device 12detect user-generated voice commands. Thus, the user is not required tochange modes on the mobile communication device 12; instead, the controlunit 11 and associated mobile communication device 12 recognize that theuser is proximate the vehicle 8 and adjust the mode accordingly.

In addition to adjusting the mode based on vehicle proximity, the system10 may adjust between a public and a private mode. For instance, asexplained above, the system's immersive communication mode ordinarilyoccurs when the user is proximate the vehicle 8. The immersivecommunication mode may have a public setting and a private setting. Thepublic setting plays the emails over headphones 18 associated with themobile communication device 12. Such a setting prevents a user fromdisturbing other occupants of the vehicle 8. The private setting playsthe emails over the vehicle sound system 16, and is ordinarily used whenthe user is the only occupant in the vehicle 8.

Of course, such system settings may be adjusted by the user and theirparticular preferences in their user profile. For example, the user mayprefer to switch to the immersive communication mode when the mobilecommunication device 12 and user are within a certain distance from thevehicle 8, whereas another user may switch modes only when the mobilecommunication device 12 and user have entered the vehicle 8. Further,the user may want to operate the control unit 11 and associated device12 in a public mode, even if other occupants are in the vehicle 8.

Similarly, the system 10 recognizes when the user leaves the vehicle 8and the mobile communication device 12 reverts to a self-contained(normal) mode. The mobile communication device 12 may also record thevehicle's location when the user leaves the vehicle 8 (based upon GPS orother information). Accordingly, the user can recall the vehicleposition at a later time, either on the device or elsewhere on thesystem, which may aid the user in locating the vehicle 8.

The device has multiple USB ports 22. There are standard USB ports whichserve the following functions: to enable the driver to storepreferences, settings, and off-line memos and transcriptions on astandard USB flash drive; to permit future expansion, upgrades, andadd-on features; and to connect an Ethernet dongle for high-speedinternet access. In one example the control unit 11 has Internet accesswithout the use of a dongle. In addition, the control unit 11 has adual-purpose USB 2.0 port which in addition to the features mentionedabove, provides USB 2.0 “on-the-go” functionality by directly connectingto the USB port of a notebook computer with a standard cable (i.e.similar to connecting a portable camera or GPS unit directly to acomputer).

Other ports on the control unit 11 include an ⅛″ audio jack 23 toconnect to a car stereo without Bluetooth support, a ⅛″ microphone jack24 to support external high-quality microphones for hands-free calling,and a ⅛″ stereo headset jack 25 for use away from the vehicle or in avehicle without Bluetooth support.

The system 10 also includes an optional remote control 26 to interactwith the control unit 11. The remote control contains lithium batteries,similar to that of a remote keyless entry remote for a common vehicle.

In order to provide security and privacy, the device is operable to useboth authentication and encryption. Voice-based biometrics may also beused to further enhance security.

The driver stores his or her settings for the device in their settingsprofile 30, which may be stored in a database on an Internet server 27(see FIG. 1), or may be stored elsewhere, such as on the mobilecommunication device 12 or the control unit 11. In the example where theprofile 30 is stored on the server 27, the control unit 11 utilizes theInternet access provided by the driver's mobile communication device 12to download the driver's profile 30 via the Internet. Of course, it mayalso be possible that the control unit 11 would use its own Internetaccess, and not that of the mobile communication device 12. The controlunit 11 is operable to use the pairing information from the mobilecommunication device 12 to retrieve the correct profile 30 from theserver 27. If the profile 30 has already been downloaded to the controlunit 11, the control unit 11 may just check for changes and updates onthe server 27. Each profile 30 on the server 27 contains a set of rulesthat the control unit 11 uses to make decisions on content delivery tothe driver. The driver can access and modify their profile 30 on theInternet server 27 through either the Internet using a web-basedinterface 28 on a user computer 29, or through a simple interfacedirectly accessible from the associated mobile communication device 12.Alternatively, the profile 30 may be always stored and modified on thecontrol unit 11 only and can be accessed via the mobile communicationdevice 12 and/or via a USB connection to a laptop or desktop computer.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 11 includes a text processingmodule 34, a vehicle communication module 36, a speech recognitionmodule 38, Bluetooth (or other wireless communication) modules 40, amobile communication device communication module 42, a text-to-speechmodule 44, a user interface module 46, and a remote device behaviorcontroller 48. The control unit 11 has an email processing agent 50 thatprocesses email messages and determines the identity of the sender,whether the message has an attachment, and if so what type ofattachment, and then extracts the body-text of the message. The controlunit 11 also determines if a message is a reminder, news, or just aregular email message. The control unit 11 is operable to use a datamining algorithm to determine if any parts of the email should beexcluded (e.g. a lengthy signature).

Hands-Free Email

One feature of the system is hands-free email. Using the text-to-speechmodule 44, the control unit 11 can read email to the driver. When newemail arrives, the control unit 11 uses the profile 30 to guide anintelligent filtering and prioritization system which enables the driverto do the following: ensure that emails are filtered and read in orderof priority, limit the frequency of new email interruptions, sendautomatic replies without driver intervention, and forward certainemails to a third-party without interruption. In addition, prior tobeing read out loud, the control unit 11 processes emails to optimizeclarity. Part of that process involves detecting acronyms, symbols, andother more complex structures and ensuring that they can be easilyunderstood when read. The control unit 11 is operable to provideintelligent email summarization in order to reduce the time required tohear the important content of email when read out loud.

The driver can interact with the control unit 11 using voice commands,including “go back” and “go forward,” to which the control unit 11responds by going back to the previous phrase or sentence or the nextphrase or sentence in the email respectively. In addition, speaking “goback, go back” would back up two phrases or sentences.

Additional hands-free email features include a time-saving filteringsystem which allows the driver to hear only the most important contentor meaning of an email. Another email-related feature is the ability todownload custom email parsers to add a new dimension to audible email,and to parse informal email styles (e.g., 18 r, ttyl).

The hands-free email functionality includes content-rich notification.When providing notification of a new email, the control unit 11 providesa quick summary about the incoming email, enabling the driver toprioritize which messages are more important. Examples include “You havemail from Sally” (similar to a caller-ID for email), or “You have animportant meeting request from Cathy.” The control unit 11 looks up theknown contact names based upon the sender's email address in the user'saddress book on the mobile communication device 12. The control unit 11uses known contact names to identify the parties of an email instead ofjust reading the cryptic email addresses out loud.

In addition to reading email, the control unit 11 also enables thedriver to compose responses. The driver can send a reply using existingtext or voice templates (e.g. “I'm in the car call me at ‘number,’” or“I'm in the car, I will reply as soon as I can”). New emails can also becreated and sent with one or more voice recording attachments (e.g.,.wav file, .mp3 file). The driver is also provided the option of callingthe sender of the email on the phone using existing contact informationin the address book, or responding to meeting requests and calendarupdates (e.g. Outlook). Emails can also be created as freeform textresponses by dictating the contents of the email. The device thentranslates that into text form for email transmission. An intelligentassistant will be immediately available to suggest possible actions andto provide help as needed. Again all of these options are prompted byverbal inquires by the control unit 11 which can be selected by voicecommands by the driver.

The control unit 11 supports multiple email accounts, and email can becomposed from any existing account. Incoming email can also beintelligently handled and prioritized based upon account. Optionalin-vehicle email addresses on a custom domain are available. Emails sentfrom this address would include a notification that the email wascomposed while in transit. When composing an email to an in-vehicleemail address, the sender knows that the email will be read out loud ina vehicle. If the traditional email is “george@work.net,” then thein-vehicle address may be “george@driving.net.” Optional enhancedexisting email addresses are also available on supported email systems.For example, if the traditional email is “george@work.com,” an enhancedin-vehicle address of “george+driving@work.com” may be selected.

Enhanced Hands-Free Telephone Calls

Another feature of this invention is enhanced hands-free telephonecalls. This includes transparent use of any existing hands-free system.All incoming telephone calls can use either the existing vehiclehands-free system or the user headset 18. If an expected important emailarrives while the driver is on the phone, an “email-waiting” indicator(lights and/or subtle tones) will provide subtle notification withoutdisrupting the conversation. The headset 18 can be activated at any timefor privacy or to optimize clarity. The control unit 11 will seamlesslyswitch from the vehicle hands-free system to the private headset 18 forprivacy.

The control unit 11 also features enhanced caller-ID. The deviceannounces incoming calls by reading the caller name or number out loud(e.g. “This is a call from John Doe, do you want to answer it?”). Thiseliminates the need to look away from the road to find out who iscalling. Vehicle-aware screening can also automatically forward specificcalls to voicemail or to another number when driving, again based uponthe driver's profile. Normal forwarding rules will resume when leavingthe vehicle.

The control unit 11 also provides voice activated answering and calling.When the control unit 11 announces a telephone call, the driver canaccept the call using a voice command. The driver can use voice commandsassociated with either contacts in an address book or with spoken phonenumbers to place outgoing telephone calls (e.g. “Call Krista”).

The user can say, “Call by name,” to call someone in the user'scontacts, or “Call by number,” and then speak the phone number to thecontrol unit 11 (for example, the control unit 11 listens to all of thenumbers, without reference the user's contacts). Alternatively, the usercan say, “Call by spelling” or “Call by alphabet,” in which case theuser then spells the name of the contact. Once the user has dictatedenough letters to define a unique contact, the control unit 11 confirmsthe contact choice (e.g. “do you want to call John Adams?”). In oneexample, the control unit 11 accepts spelling exemplary word, such as “Aas in alpha,” “B as in boy,” “C as in cat,” etc. The user does not haveto use a particular word for each letter, but it is easier for thecontrol unit 11 to recognize the letter with the confirming exemplaryword (just as it is for humans).

Unified Information Management

Another feature of the present invention is that it provides unifiedinformation management. The control unit 11 provides a consistentinterface for seamless access to incoming and outgoing telephone calls,email, and other sources of information. The existing hands-freeinterface automatically switches between telephone calls, reading email,and providing important notifications. When entering the vehicle, thecontrol unit 11 automatically provides an enhanced voice-basedinterface, and when leaving the vehicle, the mobile communication device12 automatically resumes normal operation. Email reading can also bepaused to accept an incoming phone call, and can be resumed when thecall is complete.

In addition, the driver can communicate with any contact through email,a phone call, or an SMS text message simply by speaking. The controlunit 11 provides enhanced information for incoming telephone calls. Thename and number, if available, are read out loud to ensure that thedriver knows the caller without looking away from the road. A nickname,or other information located in an address book, may also be used fornotification.

The driver can also reply to an email with a phone call. While readingan email, the driver can contact the sender by placing a telephone callwith address book information. When a phone call is made, but the lineis busy or no voicemail exists, the user is given the option of sendingan email to the same contact instead. This eliminates the need to waitand try calling the person again.

Within their profile 30, the driver can prioritize between email andphone calls, so that an important email will not be interrupted by aless important phone call. In addition, custom mp3 (or other format)ring tones can be associated with both incoming emails and telephonecalls. Ring tones can be customized by email from certain contacts,phone calls from certain contacts, or email about certain subjects.Custom “call waiting” audible indicators can be used when an importantemail arrives while on the phone, or when an important phone callarrives while reading or composing an email.

Enhanced Hands-Free Calendar

Another feature of the present invention is the enhanced hands-freecalendar wherein the control unit 11 utilizes the calendar functionalityof the user's mobile communication device 12. The control unit 11 readsthe subject and time of calendar reminders out loud, and the driver canaccess additional calendar information with voice commands if desired.The driver can also perform in-transit schedule management by reviewingscheduled appointments (including date, time, subject, location andnotes); accepting, declining, or forwarding meeting requests fromsupported systems (e.g. Outlook); scheduling meetings; and automaticallyannotating meetings with location information. The driver can also storelocation-based reminders, which will provide reminders the next time thevehicle is present in a specified geographical area, and automaticallyreceive information associated with nearby landmarks. In addition, thedriver could plan and resolve meeting issues by communicating directlywith other participants' location-aware devices.

Do Not Disturb

Another feature of the present invention is the “do not disturb”functionality. When passengers are present in the vehicle, the controlunit 11 can be temporarily silenced. Even when silent, the control unit11 will continue to intelligently handle incoming email, emailforwarding, providing automatic email replies, and processing email asdesired. A mute feature is also available.

Integrated Voice Memo Pad

Another feature of the present invention is the integrated voice memopad, which enables the driver to record thoughts and important ideaswhile driving so they will not be forgotten while parking or searchingfor a memo pad or device. Memos can be transferred via email to thedriver's inbox, or to any of the driver's contacts. Memos can also bewirelessly transferred to a computer desktop via the Bluetooth interfaceas the user arrives in the office, or transferred to a removable USBflash memory drive. Memos can also be annotated automatically usingadvanced context information including location, weather, and tripinformation. For example, “this memo was recorded at night in a trafficjam on the highway, halfway between the office and the manufacturingfacility.” Such augmented information can provide valuable cues whenreviewing memos.

Access to Diverse Information

Another feature of the example embodiment of the present invention isthe ability to access to diverse information. Information is availablein audible form (text-to-speech) from a wide range of sources. First,the control unit 11 provides access to personal connectivity and timemanagement information. This includes email (new and previously read),incoming caller name and number, SMS messages, MMS messages, telephonecall logs, address book, calendar and schedule, and instant messages.

Second, the control unit 11 provides multi-format support. This includesemail attachments that can be read out loud, including plain text, audioattachments (e.g., .wav, .mp3), HTML (e.g., encoded emails and websites), plain text portions of Word and PowerPoint files, Adobe PortableDocument format (“PDF”), OpenDocument formats, and compressed and/orencoded attachments of the above formats (e.g. .zip).

Third, the device provides environment and location awareness. Thisincludes current location and navigation information, local weatherconditions, vehicle status, and relevant location-specific information(e.g., where is “work”, where is “home?”).

Fourth, the control unit 11 provides remote access to information. Thisincludes existing news sources (e.g. existing RSS feeds) and supportedwebsites. This also includes subscription to value-added servicesincluding: weather, custom alerts (e.g. stock price triggers), trafficconditions, personalized news, e-books (not limited to audio books, butany e-book), personalized audio feeds, and personalized image or videofeeds for passengers. The system obtains, translates, and providespersonalized news content in audible form within a vehicle withoutexplicit user requests. An individual may set their preferences byselecting from a set of common sources of information, or by specifyingcustom search criteria. When new information is available and relevantto the individual's preferences, it is read out loud to the individualwhen appropriate. Appropriate instances can be specified by theindividual using a combination of in-vehicle presence detection,time-of-day, and importance of the information relative to otherpersonal events including email, phone calls, meetings and textmessages.

Individual preferences are fine tuned using negative feedback asspecific stories and events are read out loud to the individual. Thisnegative feedback is used in combination with the individual's personalsearch criteria to refine the relevance of future personalized content.In addition to online news content, the individual may also select otheravailable online content, including stock market events and general websearch terms. Some examples of personalized content include:

-   -   Weather    -   Custom alerts (e.g. stock price triggers)    -   Traffic conditions    -   Personalized news    -   e-books (Not limited to audio-books, but any e-book)    -   Personalized audio feeds    -   Personalized image or video feeds for passengers

All text information is parsed and translated to optimizeintelligibility before being read out loud to the individual.

Notification rules can be set by the individual using any combination oftime interval, in-vehicle presence, and importance of the news eventwith appropriate location aware hardware support, notification rules canalso include location based constraints. Desired news content can beselected using predefined templates or custom search terms.

User feedback is incorporated to maintain historical information aboutthe news events to which the individual listens, news events that areinterrupted, and news events to which the individual provides explicitfeedback. This information is used to help filter subsequent newsinformation and provide the user with more relevant news information thelonger they use the service.

To minimize the volume of wireless data transfer, all searching andselection of relevant content may be performed using a server with awired data connection. Appropriate instances to present new informationare detected locally (within the vehicle). When an appropriate instanceoccurs, a short request is sent to trigger the transmission of the mostrecent personalized news information from the search server.

Personalization

Another feature in the example system 10 is extensive personalizationand customization for email handling, email notification, time-sensitiverules, vehicle-aware actions, text-to-speech preferences, and multipleuser support.

The email handling settings in the user's profile 30 allow the driver touse the control unit's 11 built-in intelligent email parsing andprocessing. This enables the driver to avoid receiving notification forevery trivial incoming email. Some of the intelligent parsing featuresinclude automatic replies, forwarding and prioritization based oncontent and sender, and substitution of difficult phrases (e.g. emailaddresses and web site URLs) with simple names and words. The driver canalso choose to hear only select information when a new email arrives(e.g., just the sender name, or the sender and subject, or a quicksummary). Email “ring tones” are also available for incoming emailsbased on sender or specific keywords. Prepared text or voice replies canbe used to send frequently used responses (e.g. “I'm in transit rightnow”). Some prepared quick-responses may be used to automaticallyforward an email to a pre-selected recipient such as an administrativeassistant. The driver can also set up both email address configurationand multiple email address rules (e.g. use “me@work.com” when replyingto emails sent to “me@work.com,” but use “me@mobile.com” when composingnew emails).

The driver can also customize notification. This includes prioritizingemails and phone calls based on caller or sender and subject (e.g.,never read emails from Ben out loud, or if an email arrives from George,it should be read before others). The driver can also limit the amountof notifications received (e.g., set minimum time between notifications,or maximum number of emails read in a short period of time).

Time-sensitive rules in the profile 30 may include options such as“don't bother me in the morning,” or “only notify me about incomingemail between these hours.” The driver can also configure audiblereminder types based on calendar and scheduling items from the mobilecommunication device. Vehicle-aware actions are configurable based onthe presence of the user in the vehicle. These actions include thecontent of automatic replies and predefined destinations and rules toautomatically forward specific emails to an administrative assistant orother individual. These also include actions to take when multipleBluetooth enabled mobile communication devices are present (e.g., switchto silent “do not disturb” mode, or take no action).

The text-to-speech settings for the control unit 11 are alsoconfigurable. This includes speech characteristics such as speed, voice,and volume. The voice may be set to male or female, and may be set tospeak a number of languages, including but not limited to US English, UKEnglish, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, and Portuguese. A baseset of languages will be provided with the device, with alternatelanguages being available in the future. The driver can set personalpreferences for pronunciation of specific words, such as difficultcontact names, and specialized acronyms or symbols, such as “H₂O.” Bydefault, most acronyms are spelled out letter by letter (e.g., IMS,USB).

Information about specific words or phrases can be used to enhance bothspeech recognition performance and text-to-speech performance, which mayinclude context sensitive shortcuts. For example, nicknames could beexpanded into an email address if the driver is dictating an email. Inaddition, email addresses could be expanded to a common name when found.The driver can also set custom voice prompts or greetings.

The control unit 11 also features multiple user support, whereinmultiple people can share the same control unit. The deviceautomatically identifies each person by their mobile communicationdevice 12, and maintains individual profiles 30 for each driver.

Connectivity

The connectivity functionality of the control unit 11 enables it tofunction as a hands-free audio system. It interacts with supportedBluetooth hands-free devices, including but not limited to Bluetoothenabled vehicles (e.g., HS, HFP, and A2DP), after-market hands-freevehicle products, and supported headsets to provide privacy. Forvehicles not containing Bluetooth or other wireless support, the controlunit 11 can connect directly to the vehicle's audio system 16 through awired connection. In one example a retrofit solution could be used forexisting vehicles lacking wireless connectivity in the form of anoptional after-market Bluetooth kit.

The system 10 may include a remote control 26 for accessing the controlunit 11. Using this feature, emergency response support may be availablefor direct assistance in emergencies, providing GPS location informationif available. The driver could also use the control unit 11 through anadvanced wireless audio/visual system, including such features asstreaming music and providing image content (e.g., PowerPoint, imagesattached in emails, slideshows). Integrated steering-wheel columnbuttons could also be an available option.

The control unit 11 can also connect to a computer and external devices.This could include personal computers with Bluetooth to convenientlyexchange information over a personal area network (“PAN”). This couldalso include GPS devices (with Bluetooth or other wireless or wiredconnectivity) for location awareness. This could also include storagedevices (Bluetooth or other wireless or wired) for personal e-booklibraries, or to manage offline content with the unified hands-freeinterface. In one example, an optional cable is available forcontrolling an iPod or other music player with voice commands. Throughthe device's USB ports, the driver can expand the functionality of thedevice by attaching such items as a USB GPRS/EDGE/3G device for directmobile access without a separate mobile communication device, or a USBWiFi for high-speed Internet access.

Upgradeability and Expansion

The driver may add future enhancements to the control unit 11 wirelesslyusing standard Bluetooth enabled devices. This includes support forwireless transfer with a desktop or notebook computer to transfer andsynchronize information. Advanced Bluetooth profile support (e.g. A2DP)for stereo and high quality audio is also available.

As mentioned previously, the control unit 11 will contain two USB ports.The standard USB port or ports will provide convenient access tostandard USB devices for storing preferences on a standard USB flashdrive; storing and moving off-line memos and transcriptions recorded bythe device; and future expansion, upgrades, and add-on features. Thedual-purpose USB 2.0 “On-The-Go” port or ports will provide both theaforementioned features to access USB devices, and also directconnections to a computer with a standard cable (e.g. just likeconnecting a digital camera or GPS unit directly to a computer).

Call By Spelling

As discussed above, a user can say, “Call by spelling” or “Call byalphabet,” and the user can then proceed to spell the name of thecontact. Once the user has dictated enough letters to define a uniquecontact, the control unit 11 confirms the contact choice through aconfirmation prompt, in which a suggested contact is presented to theuser (e.g., “do you want to call John Adams?”). Thus, a second portionof the spoken letters may be ignored in response to a first portion ofthe spoken letters being sufficient to identify a desired contact.Suggested contacts may be listed in an order of decreasing confidence,such that frequently used contacts are suggested prior to rarely usedcontacts.

If the user's spoken letters result in a plurality of search results,the control unit 11 presents a disambiguation prompt to the user, inwhich a suggested contact and a quantity of found contacts is presented(e.g., “There are 3 Johns. Did you mean John Smith?”).

In one example, if multiple contacts have the same name, the controlunit presents additional information about a suggested contact, such asa contact company, a contact city, a middle name, or an email address(e.g., “There are 5 John Smiths. Did you mean John at IMS?”).

In response to the confirmation or disambiguation prompts, the user isgiven the chance to accept the suggested contact, to reject thesuggested contact, to re-spell the contact, or to exit the contactspelling mode. In one example, the step of transmitting a suggestedcontact is repeated in response to the user rejecting the suggestedcontact. If the user rejects a contact a predetermined number of times(e.g. 5 times), the control unit 11 may remind the user that the usercan restart the spelling process.

In one example, the control unit 11 accepts spelling exemplary word,such as “A as in alpha,” “B as in boy,” “C as in cat,” etc. The userdoes not have to use a particular word for each letter, but it is easierfor the control unit 11 to recognize the letter with the confirmingexemplary word (just as it is for humans). Thus, the exemplary word maybe used to confirm a spoken letter associated with the exemplary word.

In one example the process of comparing spoken letters to known contactsis performed using an approximate string matching algorithm. This mayinclude the Fuzzy Bitmap algorithm using a Levenshtein distance approachfor comparisons. A weighting scheme for analyzing spoken letters mayplace emphasis on the beginning of a spoken name, such that a largerpenalty exists for missing or substituting a first letter than a missingor substituted middle or ending letter. For English language speaking,the Soundex code may be used as a starting point to define costs tosubstitute one letter with another.

Once the user confirms a contact, the control unit 11 initiates acommunication with the contact, such as via a phone call, email, or SMSor MMS message, for example. In one example the control unit 11 receivesa spoken message from a user, and then translates the speech of thespoken message into text for an email or an SMS text message.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a “call by spelling” method 100 ofinitiating a communication from a mobile communication device. Aplurality of spoken letters corresponding to a spelling of at least aportion of a contact name is received (step 102). In response to thespoken letters, a contact and associated contact information isidentified from a database associated with a mobile communication device(step 104). A communication to the contact is initiated from the mobilecommunication device using the associated contact information (step106).

Voicemail

The control unit 11 and/or the user's profile 30 store informationprovided by the user for accessing voicemail accounts belonging to theuser. For example, the user may have a voicemail box 62 associated withthe user's mobile communication device 12, another voicemail box 68associated with a home telephone number, another voicemail box 70associated with a work telephone number, etc, accessible over atelephone network 66. The control unit 11 and/or server 27 provideintegrated access to all of these voicemail boxes 62, 68, 70 to theuser.

The control unit 11 and/or server 27 store information indicating how toaccess and control all of the voicemail boxes 62, 68, 70, for example:telephone number, password, control keys (e.g. “press ‘3’ for nextmessage”). Via a voice-driven menu on the control unit 11, the userregisters each voicemail box 62, 68, 70 and the access/controlinformation on the control unit 11, which then copies it to the server27. The user can also choose to store this information on the server 27(which copies it to the control unit 11) via the user's computer 29 overthe wide area network. The user can also choose to store the informationvia the mobile communication device 12 to the server 27 and/or controlunit 11. The control unit 11 can also learn remote voicemail DTMFcommands in an automated or semi-automated manner, by analyzing theaudio signal originating from the voicemail box 62, 68, 70 and providingappropriate audible stimuli. For example, the control unit 11 can listenfor “press 3 to play the next message,” and parse the spoken informationto automatically associate “3” with “next”.

The voicemail box 42 associated with the mobile communication device 12will provide an indication on the mobile communication device 12 of theexistence of a new voicemail message. This indication is sent to thecontrol unit 11, which can then inform the user of the new voicemailmessage according to prioritization rules set up by the user. Thecontrol unit 11 and/or server 27 periodically check voicemail in thevoicemail boxes 68, 70 using the stored information to provideindications of new voicemail to the control unit 11.

According to the user's stored prioritization rules, the control unit 11notifies the user of new voicemail via speech from control unit 11. Theprioritization rules could be stored on the mobile communication device12, on the control unit 11, or on the Internet server 27, for example.The control unit 11 references voicemail meta-data and gives the userspoken or visual information about the caller, length, urgency/priority,and age of the recent voicemail messages.

The system can, without requiring direct voicemail user engagement,process existing voicemail messages and expose this content using analternate user interface. The processing may involve previouslydescribed actions, including translation from voice to text. The systemcan cross-reference voicemail meta-data against local or remotedatabases, including the phone's addressbook, to augment voicemailcaller number information with nickname or real name. By referencing adatabase associated with the mobile communication device 12 (e.g. theuser's contacts), the control unit 11 can announce the name of thecaller who left the voicemail and ask the user, “do you want to listento a voicemail from Sarah Smith?” (for example). The control unit 11 canalso facilitate responding to the voicemail, such as returning the callor responding with an email, IM or SMS message, by referencing theappropriate contact information.

The system can consolidate information across multiple voicemail systems62, 68, 70 and present the information in a unified, single voice userinterface to minimize overhead time dialing into multiple systems

The system can access voicemail or PBX systems using a combination ofboth spoken language and/or DTMF codes, triggered by time delay, anaudible event from the remote party, or a spoken command from the user.This is important to access voicemail systems in complex environments. Afailsafe method exists to access voicemail in addition to any number ofnew services requiring DTMF access. This method augments a normal phoneconversation, and presents DTMF codes to the remote party when the userspeaks specific keywords. For example, many customer support systemsleverage DTMF codes for access. This “failsafe” method is valuable tointeract with any dial-in system without requiring pre-configuration.

In use, the control unit 11 informs the user that he/she has voice mail.The user instructs control unit 11 to access his voice mailbox withcarrier, at home or at work, or other voice mailbox. The user providescontrol unit 11 with mailbox access code during the session or duringcontrol unit 11 installation/activation, or via voice or manual commandto inform control unit 11 of the access code for each mailbox. Controlunit 11 interprets the user voice command and translate to theappropriate commands of the specific mailbox, for example, if themailbox uses the pressing of 3 on the keypad to signify moving to nextmessage in the mailbox, the user says “next voice message,” and controlunit 11 translates this command to “3” and causes the mailbox to advanceto the next message. The user says “delete,” control unit 11 translatesthat to the appropriate mailbox command (commonly “7”) and causes themailbox to delete the message. The invention supports all user commands,including, read again, forward voice message, delete, save, etc. Theinvention supports a “translate to email” application whereby the voicemail is processed and converted to text. The translation can beforwarded to a user as text email, can be saved in the user device astext, or read to the user using control unit 11 text to speechcapability. The user can chose to forward an audio copy of the voicemessage as an attachment to other users using the email application. Theuser can instruct the system to access different voice mailboxes: workvoice mailbox, personal voice mailbox, family voice mailbox, or anymailbox the user labels using a certain designation.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a method 200 of presenting voicemail toa user. Communication is established between the control unit 11 and themobile communication device 12 (step 202). A voicemail box 62 associatedwith the mobile communication device is checked for messages (step 204).A voicemail box (e.g. 68, 70) associated with a second communicationdevice (e.g. a home phone) is checked (step 206). At least one voicemailmessage received from at least one of the first voicemail box 62 thesecond voicemail box (e.g. 68, 70) is presented to the user via aunified, single voice user interface of a control unit (step 208).

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes andjurisprudence, exemplary configurations described above are consideredto represent a preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it shouldbe noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than asspecifically illustrated and described without departing from its spiritor scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of initiating a communication from amobile communication device, comprising: A) receiving a plurality ofspoken letters corresponding to a spelling of at least a portion of acontact name; B) identifying a contact and associated contactinformation from a database associated with a mobile communicationdevice in response to the spoken letters; C) initiating a communicationto the contact from the mobile communication device using the associatedcontact information; D) transmitting a suggested contact in response toidentification of a contact from the spoken letters; and E) receiving acommand to accept the suggested contact, to reject the suggestedcontact, to re-spell contact, or to exit a contact spelling mode.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said step (B) includes: comparing the spokenletters to known contacts in the database using an approximate stringmatching algorithm.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the associatedcontact information is a telephone number and wherein said step (C)includes initiating a telephone call.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinsaid step (C) includes: receiving a spoken message for the contact; andtransmitting an email containing the spoken message to the contact. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein said step (C) includes: receiving aspoken message for the contact; and transmitting at least one of an SMSor MMS message containing the spoken message to the contact.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said step (B) includes: ignoring a secondportion of the spoken letters in response to a first portion of thespoken letters being sufficient to identify a desired contact.
 7. Themethod of claim 1 wherein said step (E) includes receiving the commandto accept the suggested contact.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein saidstep (E) includes receiving the command to re-spell the contact.
 9. Amethod of initiating a communication from a mobile communication device,comprising: A) receiving a plurality of spoken letters corresponding toa spelling of at least a portion of a contact name; B) identifying acontact and associated contact information from a database associatedwith a mobile communication device in response to the spoken letters;and C) initiating a communication to the contact from the mobilecommunication device using the associated contact information; whereinsaid step (A) includes: receiving at least one exemplary word for eachof the plurality of spoken letters, the at least one exemplary wordhaving the same initial letter as a spoken letter; and using theexemplary word to confirm a spoken letter associated with the exemplaryword.
 10. A method of initiating a communication from a mobilecommunication device, comprising: A) receiving a plurality of spokenletters corresponding to a spelling of at least a portion of a contactname; B) identifying a contact and associated contact information from adatabase associated with a mobile communication device in response tothe spoken letters; and C) initiating a communication to the contactfrom the mobile communication device using the associated contactinformation; D) transmitting a suggested contact in response toidentification of a contact from the spoken letters; and E) transmittinga reminder that the user can repeat step (A) in response to the userrejecting a suggested contact a predetermined quantity of times.
 11. Amethod of initiating a communication from a mobile communication device,comprising: A) receiving a plurality of spoken letters corresponding toa spelling of at least a portion of a contact name; B) identifying acontact and associated contact information from a database associatedwith a mobile communication device in response to the spoken letters;and C) initiating a communication to the contact from the mobilecommunication device using the associated contact information; and D)transmitting a suggested contact in response to identification of acontact from the spoken letters, including indicating a quantity ofidentified contacts in response to identification of a plurality ofcontacts in said step (B).
 12. A method of initiating a communicationfrom a mobile communication device, comprising: A) receiving a pluralityof spoken letters corresponding to a spelling of at least a portion of acontact name; B) identifying a contact and associated contactinformation from a database associated with a mobile communicationdevice in response to the spoken letters; and C) initiating acommunication to the contact from the mobile communication device usingthe associated contact information; and D) transmitting a suggestedcontact in response to identification of a contact from the spokenletters, including transmitting a name of a suggested contact and asupplemental piece of information associated with the suggested contactin response to multiple identified contacts having the same name. 13.The method of claim 12, wherein the supplemental piece of information isat least one of a contact company, a contact city, a middle name, and anemail address.
 14. A method of initiating a communication from a mobilecommunication device, comprising: A) receiving a plurality of spokenletters corresponding to a spelling of at least a portion of a contactname; B) identifying a contact and associated contact information from adatabase associated with a mobile communication device in response tothe spoken letters; and C) initiating a communication to the contactfrom the mobile communication device using the associated contactinformation; and D) transmitting a suggested contact in response toidentification of a contact from the spoken letters; wherein said step(D) is selectively repeated in response to the user rejecting asuggested contact.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein contacts aresuggested in a decreasing order of confidence.
 16. The method of claim15, wherein frequently used contacts are suggested prior to rarely usedcontacts.
 17. A vehicle communication system comprising: a mobilecommunication device; a control unit in a vehicle, the control unitbeing in communication with the mobile communication device, the controlunit being operable to receive a plurality of spoken letterscorresponding to a spelling of at least a portion of a contact name, toidentify a contact and associated contact information from a databaseassociated with the mobile communication device in response to thespoken letters, and to initiate a communication to the contact from themobile communication device using the associated contact information,wherein the control unit is operable to transmit a suggested contact inresponse to identification of a contact from the spoken letters andwherein the control unit is operable to receive a command to accept thesuggested contact, to reject the suggested contact, to re-spell contact,or to exit a contact spelling mode.
 18. The system of claim 17, whereinthe control unit is operable to transmit a suggested contact in responseto identification of a contact from the spoken letters.
 19. A method ofinitiating a communication from a communication device, comprising: A)receiving a plurality of spoken letters corresponding to a spelling ofat least a portion of a contact name, wherein said step A) includes:receiving at least one exemplary word for each of the plurality ofspoken letters, the at least one exemplary word having the same initialletter as a spoken letter; and using the exemplary word to confirm aspoken letter associated with the exemplary word; B) identifying asuggested contact and associated contact information from a databaseassociated with a communication device in response to the spokenletters; C) presenting the suggested contact in response to theidentification in said step B); D) receiving a command to accept thesuggested contact after said step C); and E) initiating a communicationto the suggested contact from the communication device using theassociated contact information.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein saidstep C) includes indicating a quantity of identified contacts inresponse to identification of a plurality of suggested contacts in saidstep (B).
 21. The method of claim 19, wherein said step C) includes:presenting a name of a suggested contact and a supplemental piece ofinformation associated with the suggested contact in response tomultiple identified contacts having the same name.
 22. The method ofclaim 21, wherein the supplemental piece of information is at least oneof a contact company, a contact city, a middle name, and an emailaddress.
 23. A vehicle communication system comprising: a mobilecommunication device; a control unit in a vehicle, the control unitbeing in communication with the mobile communication device, the controlunit being operable to receive a plurality of spoken letterscorresponding to a spelling of at least a portion of a contact name, toidentify a contact and associated contact information from a databaseassociated with the mobile communication device in response to thespoken letters, and to initiate a communication to the contact from themobile communication device using the associated contact information,wherein control unit is also operable to receive at least one exemplaryword for each of the plurality of spoken letters, the at least oneexemplary word having the same initial letter as a spoken letter, andwherein the control unit uses the exemplary word to confirm a spokenletter associated with the exemplary word.
 24. A vehicle communicationsystem comprising: a mobile communication device; a control unit in avehicle, the control unit being in communication with the mobilecommunication device, the control unit being operable to receive aplurality of spoken letters corresponding to a spelling of at least aportion of a contact name, to identify a contact and associated contactinformation from a database associated with the mobile communicationdevice in response to the spoken letters, and to initiate acommunication to the contact from the mobile communication device usingthe associated contact information, wherein the control unit is operableto transmit a suggested contact in response to identification of acontact from the spoken letters, wherein the control unit is operable topresent a reminder that the user can repeat the spoken letters inresponse to the user rejecting a suggested contact a predeterminedquantity of times.
 25. The system of claim 24, wherein the control unitis operable to indicate a quantity of identified contacts in response toidentification of a plurality of contacts in said step (B).
 26. Avehicle communication system comprising: a mobile communication device;a control unit in a vehicle, the control unit being in communicationwith the mobile communication device, the control unit being operable toreceive a plurality of spoken letters corresponding to a spelling of atleast a portion of a contact name, to identify a contact and associatedcontact information from a database associated with the mobilecommunication device in response to the spoken letters, and to initiatea communication to the contact from the mobile communication deviceusing the associated contact information, wherein the control unit isoperable to transmit a suggested contact in response to identificationof a contact from the spoken letters, wherein the control unit isoperable to present a name of a suggested contact and a supplementalpiece of information associated with the suggested contact in responseto multiple identified contacts having the same name.
 27. The system ofclaim 26, wherein the supplemental piece of information is at least oneof a contact company, a contact city, a middle name, and an emailaddress.
 28. A vehicle communication system comprising: a mobilecommunication device; a control unit in a vehicle, the control unitbeing in communication with the mobile communication device, the controlunit being operable to receive a plurality of spoken letterscorresponding to a spelling of at least a portion of a contact name, toidentify a contact and associated contact information from a databaseassociated with the mobile communication device in response to thespoken letters, and to initiate a communication to the contact from themobile communication device using the associated contact information,wherein the control unit is operable to transmit a suggested contact inresponse to identification of a contact from the spoken letters, whereinthe control unit is operable to present a second suggested contact inresponse to the user rejecting the suggested contact.